“Is the LORD not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
(“Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with their foreign idols?”)
20“The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
21For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt,
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.
22Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of my poor people
not been restored?
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a One Ms Gk: MT this people, Jerusalem,
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Or I will make an end of them, says the LORD . There are
d Meaning of Heb uncertain
8.1–2 In Assyrian practice, corpses of leaders were disinterred when a vassal violated a treaty (see 2 Kings 23.16, which tells of Josiah’s desecration of tombs at the sanctuary of Bethel). Sun, moon, host of heaven, astral deities (Deut 4.19; 17.3; 2 Kings 23.5).
8.4–10.25 These chapters return to the theme of the “foe from the north” (see 4.5–6.30). This section contains the following poetic oracles of judgment: 8.4–13;8.14–9.11; 9.17–22; 10.17–25. Later prose additions include 9.12–16; 9.23–26. Inserted within these chapters is a diatribe against idol worship (10.1–16) with a prose addition (10.11). See note on 7.1–8.3.
8.4–13 An oracle of judgment consisting of two parts: an indictment of the people for their refusal to repent (vv. 4–7) and a diatribe against the religious leaders (scribes, prophets, and priests, vv. 8–13).
8.4–6 The Hebrew root shub, “repent” or “turn,” occurs six times in these verses: go astray, turn back, turned away, backsliding, return, turn. Repents in v. 6 translates a different Hebrew word (nicham). See note on 3.1–4.4.
8.7 Birds instinctively know and act in accord with the natural order, but the people do not know God’s revealed order of justice.
8.8–13 The prophetic “word” (revealed through the prophet’s encounter with God) conflicts with written law if the latter is corrupted and misinterpreted. The wise are scribes who served two institutions, the royal court and the temple. Temple scribes wrote religious legislation, interpreted priestly law, and taught the nation God’s Torah. Royal sages formulated civil legislation, served in legal settings as judges and lawyers, gave advice to kings and other high officials, and administered the kingdom. The “wise” were often in conflict with prophets over the proper discernment and source of the divine will (see 18.18; Isa 3.1–4; 30.1–5; 31.1–3; Ob 8). Wisdom is the ability to discern God’s righteous order and to teach people and the king how to act in conformity with that order. Wise behavior was thought to lead to peace (Hebrew shalom), which also means “well-being” and “harmony.”
8.14–9.26 This lengthy poem is fashioned out of several prophetic speeches: the people’s resignation and the approach of the “foe” (8.14–17); an interlude describing Jeremiah’s and God’s anguish over the coming destruction (8.18–9.3); an indictment of the neighbor’s deceit (9.4–9); and three admonitions to lament over imminent destruction (9.10–22). Two prose additions are inserted: 9.12–16; 9.23–26.
8.14–17. The people are resigned to divine destruction and the approach of the “foe.”
8.16 Dan, either a Northern tribe or more probably a city (Tel Dan) situated on the northern border of Israel. The whole land quakes echoes the chaos tradition, in which the order of the cosmos is destabilized by the approach of divine judgment (see Hab 3; note on 4.19–26).
8.18–9.3 The prophet experiences divine suffering over the imminent destruction of the people.
8.19 See note on 7.1–8.3.
8.22 Balm, resin or gum of the balsam tree, used to heal wounds. Gilead, a region in the Transjordan located between Bashan and Moab (see Gen 37.25).
JEREMIAH 9a
1O that my head were a spring of water,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night
for the slain of my poor people!
2b O that I had in the desert
a traveler’s lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all adulterers,
a band of traitors.
3They bend their tongues like bows;
they have grown strong in the land for falsehood, and not for truth;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they do not know me, says the LORD.
4Beware of your neighbors,
and put no trust in any of your kin;c
for all your kind are supplanters,
and every neighbor goes around like a slanderer.
5They all deceive their neighbors,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongues to speak lies;
they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent.e
6Oppression upon oppression, deceitf upon deceit!
They refuse to know me, says the LORD.
7Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts:
I will now refine and test them,
for what else can I do with my sinful people?g
8Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceit through the mouth.
They all speak friendly words to their neighbors,
but inwardly are planning to lay an ambush.
9Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD;
and shall I not bring retribution
on a nation such as this?
10Take uph weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness,
because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
both the birds of the air and the animals
have fled and are gone.
11I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a lair of jackals;
and I will make the towns of Judah a desolation,
without inhabitant.
12Who is wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, so that they may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13And the LORD says: Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, or walked in accordance with it, 14but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their ancestors taught them. 15Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I am feeding this people with wormwood, and giving them poisonous water to drink. 16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.
The People Mourn in Judgment
17Thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
send for the skilled women to come;
18let them quickly raise a dirge over us,
so that our eyes may run down with tears,
and our eyelids flow with water.
19For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
“How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our dwellings.”
20Hear, O women, the word of the LORD,
and let your ears receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a dirge,
and each to her neighbor a lament.
21“Death has come up into our windows,
it has entered our palaces,
to cut off the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.”
22Speak! Thus says the LORD:
“Human corpses shall fall
like dung upon the open field,
like sheaves behind the reaper,
and no one shall gather them.”
23Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; 24but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD.
25The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will attend to all those who are circumcised only in the foreskin: 26Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all those with shaven temples who live in the desert. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.
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a Ch 8.23 in Heb
b Ch 9.1 in Heb
c Heb in a brother
d Heb for every brother
e Cn Compare Gk: Heb they weary themselves with iniquity. 6Your dwelling
f Cn: Heb Your dwelling in the midst of deceit
g Or my poor people
h Gk Syr: Heb I will take up
9.4–9 A neighbor’s deceit (“treachery”) resides at the heart of social discord and corruption.
9.10–22 Three admonitions (vv. 10–11, 17–19, 20–22) to engage in ritual lament over the death of the cosmos and the destruction of Jerusalem.
9.12–16 A prose addition blaming the destruction on disobedience to God’s law.
9.17 Mourning women, skilled women, professional mourners who are paid to lament during a funeral or over destruction of a city (see 22.18–19; Lamentations). In the ancient Near East, goddesses and their priestesses ritually mourned over the destruction of their sacred cities, at times as a prelude to new life.
9.21–22 Some scholars see here an allusion to the Canaanite god of death (Mot).
9.23–26 A prose insertion reassuring the exiles of God’s steadfast love (Hebrew chesed, “covenant love”), justice, and righteousness and promising future punishment for the uncircumcised pagan nations as well as those Jews who are uncircumcised in heart (i.e., disobedient to God’s will).
9.26 Shaven temples, a religious rite of hair cutting practiced by Arab tribes (see 25.23; 49.32).
JEREMIAH 10
Idolatry Has Brought Ruin on Israel
1Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2Thus says the LORD:
Do not learn the way of the nations,
or be dismayed at the signs of the heavens;
for the nations are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the peoples are false:
a tree from the forest is cut down,
and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan;
4people deck it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5Their idolsa are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
nor is it in them to do good.
6There is none like you, O LORD;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
7Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For that is your due;
among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is no one like you.
8They are both stupid and foolish;
the instruction given by idols
is no better than wood!b
9Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz.
They are the work of the artisan and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is blue and purple;
they are all the product of skilled workers.
10But the LORD is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
11Thus shall you say to them: The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.c
12It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightnings for the rain,
and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
14Everyone is stupid and without knowledge;
goldsmiths are all put to shame by their idols;
for their images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
15They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16Not like these is the LORD,d the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the LORD of hosts is his name.
The Coming Exile
17Gather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who live under siege!
18For thus says the LORD:
I am going to sling out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
and I will bring distress on them,
so that they shall feel it.
19Woe is me because of my hurt!
My wound is severe.
But I said, “Truly this is my punishment,
and I must bear it.”
20My tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
and they are no more;
there is no one to spread my tent again,
and to set up my curtains.
21For the shepherds are stupid,
and do not inquire of the LORD;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flock is scattered.
22Hear, a noise! Listen, it is coming—
a great commotion from the land of the north
to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a lair of jackals.
23I know, O LORD, that the way of human beings is not in their control,
that mortals as they walk cannot direct their steps.
24Correct me, O LORD, but in just measure;
not in your anger, or you will bring me to nothing.
25Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you,
and on the peoples that do not call on your name;
for they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.
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a Heb They
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
c This verse is in Aramaic
d Heb lacks the LORD
10.1–16 The greatness and power of God as Creator and Lord of history are contrasted with the origins and weakness of idols. See Ps 115.3–8; Isa 40.18–20; 41.6–7; 44.9–20.
10.9 Tarshish, an unidentified seaport famous for commerce (1 Kings 10.22; Isa 23.1, 14; 60.9; Ezek 27.25). Uphaz. Location unknown. Some scholars see the term as a corruption for Ophir, a place well known for its gold (1 Kings 9.28).
10.10 At his wrath the earth quakes. God’s coming in judgment destabilizes creation (see 9.10).
10.11 A prose addition in Aramaic, unique in Jeremiah.
10.12–13 A fragment of a hymn describing God as Lord of creation (see Pss 29; 33; 104; Am 4.13; 5.8–9; 9.5–6).
10.17–25 The final siege. In this final oracle about the “foe from the north,” the siege against the cities will not be lifted. The inhabitants are admonished to prepare for exile.
10.23–25 An intercessory prayer in which the prophet asks God for both merciful chastisement for his sins and punishment upon the enemies who have destroyed God’s people.
JEREMIAH 11
Israel and Judah Have Broken the Covenant
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be anyone who does not heed the words of this covenant, 4which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron-smelter, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5that I may perform the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day. Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.”
6And the LORD said to me: Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of an evil will. So I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.
9And the LORD said to me: Conspiracy exists among the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old, who refused to heed my words; they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant that I made with their ancestors. 11Therefore, thus says the LORD, assuredly I am going to bring disaster upon them that they cannot escape; though they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 12Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they will never save them in the time of their trouble. 13For your gods have become as many as your towns, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars to shame you have set up, altars to make offerings to Baal.
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